Nigenkai Night
by Vivi28799
Summary: When Kazuma Kuwabara and Yukina Jaganshi get engaged, it seems like everything is starting to go right for the red-headed nigen. But unfortunately, not everyone is happy about the arrangement, and will do anything to stop it...
1. Perfect

_ As darkness fell upon the Nigenkai, the city was silhouetted from the rooftop of the high school where Kazuma Kuwabara stood, leaning forward against the railing on his elbows, his arms crossed, staring up at the sky.  
__ The air was still and cold, and as he sighed quietly, his breath visibly rose up into the air before it slowly faded away, like a memory to be forgotten forever. Letting his eyes close for a moment, the teen tilted his head up as he took a deep inhale, the motion causing the silver chain around his neck to slide out from under his white shirt and dangled freely, the dim glow of the stars and street lights catching off of the small white gem that was hanging from it.  
__ A subtle smile crossed his face, and he slowly opened his eyes and let his gaze scan along the black skyline of the buildings that met the starry heavens as his shoulders hunched forward, placing most of his weight on the railing. He laughed quietly to himself, letting a few loose red curls fall into his eyes as he slid his feet back, his mind filled with nostalgic thoughts of the past.  
__ It all started so long ago, and yet it felt like everything had just begun- and now it was about to take a turn in a new direction, but he wasn't regretting it, not at all. Everything was perfect and he couldn't ask for more; there were no second thoughts- he was completely content.  
__ Twisting the golden band around his ring finger with his thumb, he glanced down towards the street as a man and a woman walked down the sidewalk towards the park holding hands, whispering things in each other's ear that made them laugh and smile.  
__ He never thought it would happen to him, but it did sure enough…and he couldn't be happier.___

> > > > > **Nigenkai Night**

"…Kazuma?"

The redheaded nigen almost jumped at the sound of the quiet voice that interrupted his thoughts, but instead flashed a grin and looked over his shoulder at the vision of perfection that stood behind him.

"Yukina-san!! Hey, what brings you up here?"

Giggling softly at his instant enthusiasm, the small ice koorime smiled, tilting her head to one side with her hands clasped behind her back. Her aqua-colored hair fell about her face although it was tied back with a red ribbon that complemented her shining ruby eyes, and her light blue kimono ruffled slightly as she walked over to him and placed both of her little, frail hands on the railing, looking out at the city.

"I just wanted to see you. Oniichan supposed you would be here," she said as she smiled and watched her breath rise into the chilled air. "…Am I interrupting anything Kazuma?"

What? How'd the shrimp know he was…oh yeah, the whole Jagan thing…

"Oh, no Yukina-san, you weren't interrupting! I was just thinking about some stuff, that's all."

He beamed down at her as she gazed up at the sky, her eyes reflecting the stars that illuminated her beautiful features. Man, she was so pretty…

"I see…" She then looked up at him and smiled brightly, which made him blush right away. "You know…I have been doing some thinking as well Kazuma."

"You have? About what Yuki," he asked, leaning back down on the railing to look into her gorgeous eyes.

"Well…a lot of things. Like," she lifted up her left hand from the railing and one of the streetlights below glimmered against the diamond ring around her finger, "this, for example."

Kuwabara frowned and his stomach lurched, feeling his heart begin to beat faster as doubt tapped at the back of his mind.

"You…you're not having second thoughts are you," he blurted out in a higher pitch, a look of fear in his eyes.

The ice maiden blinked, then laughed quietly and shook her head, lifting her hand to place it lightly on his shoulder.

"No, no Kazuma, of course I'm not. I couldn't be more sure about this."

He sighed, relieved as a '4000-kilowatt smile' spread across his face.

"Really?"

"Hai, _really_. You know that I want to marry you." She then laughed and looked down at her ring. "That's why I said yes, you know…"

"Heh…yeah."

She smiled with a soundless giggle, then sighed and wrapped her arm around his and laid her head against his shoulder as he bent against the railing. "…'Yeah'."

* * *

They stood in silence for a long while, just staring out at the city, wordlessly enjoying each other's company. Kuwabara was grinning like an idiot the entire time, but Yukina Jaganshi either didn't notice or didn't mind it. She once told him that he was the only one that could make her feel contented just with his smile. So, of course, he was beaming every chance he got when he was around her- but not just because she liked it, but because he wanted to.

Finally, the silence was broken as Kuwabara looked down at the street and smiled softly to himself.

"Yuki?"

"Yes Kazuma?"

"…Ai shiteru."

"Arigato koibito. I love you too." Yukina smiled up at him, then lifted herself onto her tippy-toes and kissed his cheek…

**-Whoosh-**


	2. Attack on the Roof

_ I'll kill him…_

The stillness of the park was disrupted as a large flock of birds scattered into the air at the sight of the black blur that shot through the trees.

**-Whoosh-**

_Chikusho…how dare that baka propose to my sister!!_

Hiei's eyes began to glow a dim red, and his top lip was pulled up into a snarl as his right hand gripped the hilt of his katana tightly, his knuckles white. Pressing his left foot against a tree branch, he pushed off of it and jumped to the next tree, using his right to leap even further as he skittered through the park towards the street.

His ears picked something up and he stopped, sliding his katana slightly out of its sheath with his thumb as he looked downwards. Two humans, a male and a female, walked under the tree he was in from the sidewalk into the darkness, clasping onto each other's hand as if it was all they had. The fire demon snickered and rolled his eyes, growling quietly in the shadows.

_Hn…Nigen emotions…Pathetic._

From under his headband Hiei felt his Jagan open, and he flashed his eyes over to the roof of a large building. Ah yes, that's where the nigens went to school. Smirking to himself, he bent forward and reached across his waist to grab onto his katana again, closing his third eye.

_Prepare to die, fool…_

He quickly leapt to another tree, then up its branches to the top, peering through the leaves.

There he was. But, wait…Yukina was with him!!

Hiei's anger flared and he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth together as he fought to keep his ki from growing; he did not want to be spotted before the opportune moment.

_What is she doing with that human? There's no way she could actually want to be with, **him**…_

_- -…Hn, you're so stubborn Hiei…Your sister is happy, and yet you won't allow yourself to admit it- you're just jealous that the idiot is getting the love and attention that you've never received…aren't I right…- -_

_Grrr, shut up!!_

Hiei had to force himself from slashing wildly at the air with his sword in frustration, also wary of keeping his balance atop the tree.

Darn it, what was he thinking- of course he wasn't jealous of that fool. He couldn't be jealous, there was nothing to envy when it came to Kuwabara. Well, height perhaps, but that was definitely it. He was smarter, stronger, faster…so what was it? Was it really that he was resentful of that nigen because of his sister's affections?

It was true nevertheless, Hiei did think that he deserved his sister's love far more that that baka did, and yet deep down he never really thought much on the issue.

"It matters not," he said aloud in the silence, looking down at his partially unsheathed blade. "I will kill him now, and get him out of both of our lives for good."__

With a slight thrust of his legs Hiei shot up into the air faster than even his own eyes could keep up with. But he did not need his vision, for he could sense the orange ki spreading like a soft fire into the cold atmosphere well enough.

The wind could not catch the fire koorime either, and as his blood flowed like magma in his veins, he pulled out his katana and swung it over his head, slicing it down through the unwilling still air with all of his might until he felt the blade meet its target.

His feet pressed against the railings for only a miniscule portion of a second, and then he blurred away again, his eyes closed tightly as he ran quicker than he knew he could go across the city's rooftops, the ear-piercing, heart-wrenching scream burning into his mind.

_ Kami…what have I done?_


	3. To Save Him

Kuwabara gasped, suddenly clutching his stomach tightly as something blurred in front of them, using the railings to jump up before it disappeared again.

Looking down slowly, the nigen's eyes widened as a crimson stream of blood flowed down his arms onto the ground, his focus becoming locked on the deep gash that had sliced through his abdomen.

Who could have…

"KAZUMA!!"

As he slumped to the ground on his knees, he was caught by the small koorime, who laid him back into a sitting position, her eyes white with horror.

"Kazuma-kun, are you alright? Does it hurt," she asked worriedly, her voice wavering in the shock as she placed her hands on his arms and moved them away from his bleeding wound.

The cold air whipped inside of his shirt and against the broken skin and he winced with a quick intake of breath, trying his best not to cry out in pain.

"N-No…I-I'm fine…just, kinda…sur…prised…" he forced his throat to say with a fake smile, tilting his head up and exhaling heavily into the air as his breath visibly dispersed away from him towards the sky.

"Shhh, don't talk koi," Yukina whispered, gliding one hand to his back to make sure the wound had not penetrated through. She sighed as she found both his skin and back muscles as they should be, and then she sat down on her knees facing him and reached out with her small palms hovering over the bloody area, her hands beginning to glow an iridescent blue. "You'll be all better soon.."

Meanwhile Kuwabara was struggling to keep consciousness. His vision blurred in and out, and in order to keep his eyes in focus he found himself constantly blinking, the pain not even noticed to its extent yet because he had gone numb from his chest down. "Yu…ki…na."

"I'm right here," she assured, closing her eyes as the blue light around her hands began to grow brighter and spread onto the wounded teen's body. "Please relax Kazuma."

"Re…lax…Right…" Kuwabara's palms braced themselves on each side of him on the ground, and sucking in air through his gritted teeth he closed his eyes tightly and started to feel the warm tingling sensations moving throughout his body. But that didn't change the fact that he was cold. So cold.

Who could've done this, the small koorime wondered in fright as her crimson eyes began to glow ice blue and she tried her hardest to get the wound to stop bleeding. He had already lost so much, and so quickly. Whoever it was obviously wanted to kill him…but why? What had her beloved done to make anyone that angry? Kazuma wasn't capable of that.

As Yukina bit her bottom lip and kept her thoughts silent Kuwabara's eyes opened and he stared up at the sky. He tried to focus on the stars, but his vision still refused to focus. His limbs began to shake and his face lost all of its color, and sweat began to roll down the back of his neck and make his shirt stick to his skin.

That felt like…like it was…No, he was wrong. Why would Hiei attack him? It must've been some other demon. Yeah, just a youkai with a similar energy signature- maybe another fire demon.

Suddenly a pain shot up his spine and he grimaced, sinking his teeth into his tongue so he wouldn't whimper. He was freezing, how did it get so cold all of a sudden?

"D-Don't worry a…about m-me…I-I'm okay," he kept saying over and over, his voice hushing down to a whisper with each word.

He was so tired…maybe he just needed sleep. Yeah, that sounded good.

As his eyes slowly closed Yukina looked up to his face and placed one of her hands upon it, a distressed look plaguing her features as she felt how cold his flesh had become. "Kazuma? Kazuma please don't close your eyes…Stay awake, I-I'm going to make you all better."

Kuwabara's eyelids twitched and he coughed, his face wrenching with pain as a small trail of blood began to leak from the corner of his mouth down his chin.

"I'm not…g-going to…sleep…just…resting my eyes," came the red-haired nigen's faint reply. His rasped voice broke and wavered, unlike that of his usual confident deep alto tone.

"No…no love, keep them open. Please, for me Kazuma. Don't close them." Yukina wasn't able to keep her voice calm. His wound wasn't healing quickly enough. It was too deep, too large. Her eyes began to sting and she blinked back the tears before they would come, and placing her other palm to his cheek she leaned up to him and rested her forehead to his. "Please Kazuma."

That did it. Grunting as his tongue ran across the thick substance in his mouth the teen's eyelids twitched again, then slowly lifted and he looked directly into the koorime's bright ones. "Y-You're…so pretty…" The corners of his mouth attempted to lift in a smile, and his hand rose off of the ground slightly to try and touch her cheek, but before he could a heavy exhale flooded past his lips and his eyes rolled back into his head, his large frame going limp against the wall behind him.

"…Kazuma? Talk to me, please. Kazuma, Kazuma!" Her heart began to race even faster and she didn't know what to do. Soft 'tinks' could be heard as white gems bounced lightly on the ground after rolling from her reddened cheeks. If left unconscious for too long, he wouldn't make it. Pressing her forehead against his a little more she held his head steady with her hands and closed her eyes tightly, her small shoulders shaking a little bit with her sobs.

_Can anyone hear me? Help me, please…Kazuma's hurt…he needs help…_

Silence came there after, and she cried silently in the night, wrapping her arms around her nigen's shoulders and hugging him closely to her, offering what little body heat she had. She thought that no one would answer, but then in the back of her mind she heard a voice…

_Yukina, it's Genkai. Where are you?_


	4. Awakening

_ Everything was spinning. He was spinning, falling into darkness. There was nothing to hold on to, nothing to catch him. He couldn't move, couldn't speak. He was just so tired…and cold. He thought he heard voices, but he couldn't recognize them. They echoed inside of his mind then faded away before he could call out to them. Breath was hard to catch, and with each inhale it was as if the air would not leave him and he felt like he was going to gag before he breathed in again and it started once more. What happened? And where was…_

"Yu-ki…" Light slowly seeped in past his eyelids as they fluttered open and he winced, then closed them before groaning softly and opening them again, not sure where he was.

He was staring up at the ceiling. The walls were a light brown and the light came from a window on the wall. Outside he could see cherry blossom trees and a garden. He was at Genkai's temple. But before he could smile or sigh with relief he felt the pain in his gut and he bit into his tongue again, which was still sore, probably from the last time he bit it. Mustering up his strength he grunted and sat up, leaning back against the headboard and then stopping to breath. He hurt so badly. Looking down his torso was wrapped in bandages that had turned red. Must have been from his blood.

Was he really hurt that bad?

Turning his head slightly he looked around the room and then blinked. There was a changing shield in the corner beside the sliding rice paper door and a small table next to the bed with a bowl of water and a cloth sitting on it.

This was Yukina's room.

A bright blush suddenly flooded up into his cheeks and he shifted his eyes back down to look at the green and white sheets he was laid in. These were hers to, he…he was in her bed.

Before he could think another thought he jumped a little bit then winced as the door opened and he heard a low chuckle, followed by a soft pair of footsteps.

"Niaho Kuwabara, about time you decided to wake up," Genkai said with her usual smug smile, her hands tucked into her sleeves as she folded her arms across her chest. "I was beginning to think you were so pathetic you'd be knocked out for the entire week."

"Week? What…how long have I been laying here?"

"Let's see…I believe we've been spared from your gloating four days now."

Four days? Great Kami!

"What…what happened Genkai," Kuwabara slowly asked, wincing again as he lifted a hand up to the side of his head. His curls had been washed of all the grease and they hung loosely around his forehead and temples, a few of them falling over his dark eyes.

"You were attacked," the old woman answered plainly, walking over and then sitting down on her knees beside the low to the ground bed. "Yukina was able to contact me just in time to get the dimwit and Kurama to pick you up and bring you here."

"Yukina-san?!" Kuwabara tried to sit up a little more, but was pushed back by Genkai's hands and laid back down.

"Hai. Don't worry; she's perfectly fine. Out getting some herbs for you."

Swallowing hard the red-haired teen sighed and then let himself relax back into the bed. It was so soft; no wonder Yukina-san got so much sleep.

"Is she…is she worried much," he asked, a sinking feeling coming up in his stomach with the words.

"A little, but she knew that you would wake up soon. She told me that this morning. It's two o'clock now. I'm sure she'll be here any time…would you like something to eat?"

"No thank you…"

"Alright then." Standing back up Genkai looked down at him and nodded a little bit and patted his shoulder, then turned to walk out of the room. "If she does not arrive soon I will be back to check on you in half an hour. Try not to move around too much. You don't want to start bleeding again and mess up Yukina's bedspread."

"Yes ma'am."

Kuwabara couldn't see them smile on the old woman's features as she slid the door shut, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

"I can't believe I got attacked…this really sucks. I wonder if Sis's been taking care of Eikichi," he began to wonder aloud to himself, tapping his fingers against the sheets spread across his chest. "I guess I can always ask her later. Man my stomach hurts. Maybe I should've eaten something. Nah, I'd probably just throw it back up…"

Sighing again to himself he looked around, trying to keep himself still as his eyes assessed the rest of his fianc's room.

"Sure is clean in here…my room's a mess. Maybe Shizuru'll feel sorry for me and clean it up- heh, riiight…"

All this talking was making him tired again. Stretching his mouth in a silent yawn he gazed out the window until sleep took him again and he faded off into dreams.

* * *

"So you sure he's alright now Genkai?"

"Hai, I just spoke with him a few minutes ago, Kurama."

"Did he sound dumber than he usually does…?"

Yusuke Urameshi growled and punched Hiei in the back of the head, glaring down at those scowling eyes as the snarl was returned.

"Why the hell've you been in such a bad-ass mood lately? We know you don't care about Kuwabara but could you at least show the guy a little respect? He could've died for Kami's sake!"

"Hn."

Without another word the small fire youkai flitted from the room in a blur, probably out of the temple completely to his favorite cherry blossom tree in the garden.

"What's his problem," the old woman couldn't help but ask.

Kurama was the one to answer. "We're not sure. Ever since Yusuke and I retrieved Kuwabara from the school he's been more temperamental than usual."

"Which is a lot anyway," the black-haired teen added in.

"Perhaps he's just upset that he was unable to stop the attack. After all, Yukina was right there to witness it and she was quite shaken when we found her."

"Yeah, where is she by the way? With Kuwabara?"

"No she's in town. If you like you can go see him, but don't stay long. He needs some rest."

Nodding courteously to her Kurama smiled faintly, the lights in the room bouncing off of his large emerald eyes that were shielded away by crimson strands of soft hair. "Thank you."

"Yeah thanks," Yusuke added sarcastically, yelping afterwards when the old woman stomped on his foot.

"Yeowch! What'd ya go off and do that for ya old hag?!"

"That was for your lack of manners dimwit, now hurry it up. You've been left."

"Nani?"

Turning to look over his shoulder, he saw the doors beginning to close. Kurama had already started towards Yukina's room.

"Hey! Wait for me!"


	5. Pals and Ponders

"Wakey-wakey knucklehead! We're here to see if you're really alive or not."

Kuwabara groaned and tried to roll over, then hissed in pain and opened his eyes slowly to look directly into the face of his best friend, who's brown eyes were blinking with amusement.

"Hey look! The old lady was right! How's it goin Kuwa?"

"Urameshi…?"

"Hello Kuwabara, you're looking a lot better. The color is beginning to return in your cheeks."

"Oh, hey Kurama."

"So are ya feelin better?" Kuwabara grunted as Yusuke plopped down beside him on the bed, poking at his curls as they fell onto the pillow. "I didn't know your hair was so long man! You must really grease that stuff up."

"I'm alright…kinda tired."

"That's what Master Genkai told us. It's completely natural to be fatigued. You're still healing after all," the Kitsune replied, stepping up closer to the bed now that the Spirit Detective was out of the way.

"So who's the guy who whacked ya Kuwa? Anybody we know?"

"I…I don't know."

Both visitors blinked. "What?"

Kuwabara felt a blush curling up into his cheeks and he looked off into the other direction. "Well…I-I was kind of distracted is all."

They both knew who was with him when he was attacked, and it didn't take either of them that long to figure out what could've diverted the nigen's attention.

"Ohhhh…you mean you and Yukina were-"

"Iie! We weren't doin anything!"

Kurama chuckled softly to himself and ran one of his slender hands through his hair, leaning back against the wall. "Then what was keeping you sidetracked?" He just couldn't resist.

"I uh…err…w-we were just-"

"Just getting it on, right?"

"No! She just kissed my cheek, that's it!"

"Eh-heh, right."

Kuwabara growled and tried to jump off of the bed to strangle his friend, but only made it to a half sitting up stance and then fell back onto the bed, panting. "Shut up Urameshi…don't you talk about her like that."

"Alright, sheesh! I was just kidding around," Yusuke countered, lifting his hands defensively. He then smiled and clapped his buddy on the shoulder. "It's good that you're doin alright man. We were starting to get worried. You got a big ass scratch on your gut y'know."

"Yes it was very deep. Yukina didn't even have enough energy to heal you fully. She needed both Master Genkai and myself to help."

"Really? That bad huh…?"

"Yep, you were almost cut in half! I mean it was like a big razorblade just came down and- _oomph_!" Yusuke grunted and doubled-over after Kurama elbowed him harshly in the neck, knocking him off of the bed and back onto the floor where he sat there twitching for a moment before he got back up. "Okay, sorry…Just getter better soon alright Kuwa? Kurama and me need to jet. You're supposed to be sleeping anyway."

"Um, alright…thanks."

"No problem."

"If you need any assistance Kuwabara, feel free to call and we'll see if I can put together any pain relief mixtures for you."

"Okay."

Nodding to them both Kuwabara smiled weakly and watched them go to the door.

"Hey, and don't go looking through Yukina's room klutz. Just lay there and be a good boy."

"Ha, very funny Urameshi…Ja guys."

"Ja ne."

After the two had left the tall nigen let out another long sigh. They woke him up in the middle of a perfectly good dream. But now he couldn't remember it.

"Great…"


	6. Truth Hurts

"So where do you think Hiei ran off to," Yusuke asked as he walked down the sidewalk with Kurama away from Genkai's temple.

"I'm not sure, but he didn't seem very pleased."

"Heh, no kidding, ya think?"

The Kitsune sighed, folding his arms over his chest and closing his eyes slightly, staring at the ground in front of his feet as he walked. "Well, on another matter, what confuses me is how there was no detection of another being on Kuwabara at all when we found him. Which meant that-"

"That whoever the hell had beef with him didn't want to stand out, so he hit fast then ran off, right?"

"Exactly."

"Well whose got a reason to kill him? I mean- I know Kuwa doesn't have the best rep or anything, but he's a good guy."

Kurama nodded, his fingers tapping at his arms as his lips pursed in thought, his brows furrowing together with concentration.

"Perhaps…the answer is hidden right beneath our noses."

Blinking, the spirit detective tilted his head to the side, then stopped and looked down, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"It was only an expression," Kurama added as he continued to walk, smiling a bit to himself.

"Uh, yeah I knew that, I was just thinkin," the black-haired teen replied quickly with a bit of a blush, catching up to his companion then sighing as his head tilted back. "This sucks ya know…what if the attacker was aiming for Yukina and just missed? That's possible, isn't it?"

"I suppose, but the wound seemed deliberate enough to be assumed precise."

"…In English please?"

"Gomen, I'm saying that the attack was close range, directly in front of him as Yukina tells us, and the attacker was quick enough to have stuck her as well, but he did not. He didn't want to hurt her, only him."

Yusuke nodded, shrugging his shoulders a little bit. Yeah, that made sense. Course Kurama could say that birds swam under water and he'd believe it. Something just seemed off about the whole thing…especially the timing.

"Hey, you know that Kuwa proposed to Yukina earlier that day right?"

"Hai. Do you think that could lead to a motive," Kurama asked, shifting his emerald pools over, his brows lifted in curious speculation.

"Pssh, I don't know. She definitely didn't have another boyfriend on the side or anything, that's for sure. Besides, Kuwabara would've known, and he's without a doubt a jealous guy." He laughed a little at that to himself, remembering the countless times Kuwabara would see someone looking at Yukina and he'd blow up and try to start a fight until the koorime would settle him down with just a pat on the arm and a sweet smile.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. It's always possible that a youkai simply was able to detect his ki and recognized it, then stuck for revenge or some other purpose. The only other I see that would have motive would be-"

Suddenly the two stopped, whipping their heads to look at each other, as they thought the same thing, before their eyes widened and they turned on their heels, sprinting back towards the temple as fast as they could.

* * *

_ Hn, why didn't you just die?_

Hiei growled aloud as he sat in the tall cherry blossom tree, scowling towards the small window of Yukina's room. "Baka."

_ I should have cut off his head…But no, not in front of Yukina._

The screams alone were enough. They still rang through his ears, which twitched irritably every now and then. Was it that she was only mortified of the situation, or did she scream because of the fool?

"Maybe I am jealous…"

_ --Of course you are. You've been jealous all along Hiei. It has nothing to do with the fact that you dislike him; you don't want anyone to be with your Oniisan except for you. Or a demon at least…--_

Was that it? The fool was a nigen, his sister an apparition. It wasn't meant to be from the start. Demons weren't supposed to mate with humans, it went against…Well, it was wrong.

"Damn."

_ But I hate him…the stupid arrogant idiot that he is. Yukina deserves better. She deserves to be happy._

_ --She is happy…--_

_ Grrr, didn't I tell you to shut up already?!_

The small fire demon snarled, leaning back against the main section of the tall tree as a faint breeze blew small pedals through the air under the clear sky.

How could his sister be happy with him? There were so many faults to him. Their heights were a problem for one; she was so petite and he was so giant. And he was clumsy and dumb and ugly and weak.

Although his sense of balance _had_ improved over the years _and_ he was studying hard to get into some nigen 'learning' college _and_ he had overheard his sister telling him on occasion that he was very handsome _and_ he had won well over his share of fights and was an asset to the Urameshi team because of his physical and mental abilities…Perhaps Kazuma Kuwabara had been underestimated.

As Hiei looked across Genkai's garden, his gaze returned back to the window of his sister's room. It looked as if the fool had fallen asleep again. He slept a great deal as it was, so the fire demon couldn't tell if it was because he was lazy or if he was truly drained.

"I'll give this nigen his chance, but if he makes one mistake… then I will kill him," he said finally after staying silent for a few minutes, calculating things to himself in his mind. He then stood on the branch, nodding to himself with one final glare towards the window, and flitted off again in a black blur.


	7. His Little Koorime

Kuwabara woke up again after a few hours, this time in a cold sweat. Looking over through the glass of the window he saw that the sun had gone down some, but it was still light outside. The flowers and trees swayed with a breeze that he couldn't see, and he could hear the faint sounds of birds from where he lay, although the loud throbbing in his head was doing a good job of trying to cover it.

"Ugh…" The red-haired nigen tried once again to sit up, then winced and stopped. Okay, bad idea. Shifting himself he lifted the blanket a little and looked down at the bandages wrapped around his middle before cringing and staring back up towards the ceiling.

"How long is this supposed to hurt," he asked himself quietly, slowly running a hand through his fine curls and closing his eyes again. Man, he'd kill for a bottle of grease right about now- that and some food.

Maybe he should call Genkai. No, he could wait. She'll probably come in to check on him soon anyway.

He sighed quietly and returned his gaze to look outside, feeling really stupid for being stuck here, not even being able to get up. He hated feeling vulnerable.

Just then he blinked, seeing something black in the tree not too far out in the garden. But then, it was gone. Well, Urameshi and Kurama were here, so it might've been Hiei.

"Wonder why he didn't come say hi…or 'hey fool', somethin. At least come in to insult me," he said with a snicker, rubbing both temples with the thumb and middle finger of his hand before he groaned and let his arm drop back down to his side. "He's probably ticked at me anyway."

He knew Hiei didn't want him to marry his sister, but it's not like that was going to stop him. Ever since he found out that the midget was Yukina's brother he'd noticed that Hiei was always watching him, just waiting for him to mess up.

"Well guess what shorty boy, I'm not gonna mess up! You hear me? This is the one thing I'm going to do right," Kuwabara said, his hands tightening into fists as he stared defiantly out the window.

It had to have been him, the one that attacked him. Who else could move that fast, or have any reason to try and kill him? The redhead was positive, Hiei wanted to see him dead because he loved his sister.

As he thought to himself he didn't notice that the rice paper door opened until he heard it close, and turning his head slightly, expecting to see Genkai, he blinked a few times, then broke into a wide grin as his ice princess stood before him.

"Hey Yukina-san," he blurted out, somehow finding the strength to sit up, not realizing that it hurt until his back was up against the wall and his hands were braced on both sides of him to keep him from toppling over. But he held back the wince, feeling his face blushing as he saw her smiling back at him, and that was enough to take the pain away. "How's it goin?"

"Are…are you alright Kazuma," the koorime asked slowly, walking up to the bed and placing a bowl onto the small table before she sat down on her knees and a worried look in her eyes.

"Huh? Oh yeah baby I'm fine! Never been better!" Ha, _that_ was an overstatement, he thought to himself as he grinned and lifted a hand to rub the back of his head, laughing through his teeth and the pain. "Only a little tired is all, no big deal."

Yukina shook her head a little bit with a quiet giggle, leaning up and putting one of her small hands over his as she looked at the bandages at his stomach, not needing to move the blanket because it slid down to his lap when he sat up so quickly.

"You don't need to pretend that it doesn't hurt koi," she said softly, smiling a bit more as she saw his blush redden across his face.

He was so sweet, always saying he was fine just so she wouldn't worry…

"Well, I guess it kinda stings every now and then," the nigen admitted sheepishly, shifting again and lifting a knee as the other leg stretched out, "just when I move around and stuff though."

"I see."

"So what's that," he asked, looking over towards the bowl and the green grass-looking contents inside of it.

Yukina blinked, then smiled a little and turned to pick it up. "Some herbs, they're for numbing away pain…but I guess since you don't really need them I can just take them back…"

Kuwabara paused, then sweatdropped and laughed, rubbing the back of his neck and wincing in the process. "Um…y'know, how about I take those anyway? I don't want anything to go to waste of course, eh heh."

His fiancé giggled softly and nodded, then got off of her knees and sat on the edge of the bed, placing the bowl in her lap. "Alright then, if you insist Kazuma."

Being very careful, the small ice maiden took the herbs and softly spread them over the bandages, not pressing them on too hard with her tiny fingers so as not to hurt him, smiling a bit as the redhead watched.

"So you just like, put em on there huh," he asked, only being used to the kinds of medicines that you had to take by mouth or had to put directly on the injury.

"Hai," she answered quietly, her eyes focused on what she was doing but her face still sweet. "They sink in to the material and the healing agents help keep the wound from becoming infected, along with numbing the pain."

"Oh."

He was about to ask when it should start kicking in, but before he could even open his mouth he twitched, feeling a pulsing tingling feeling spreading throughout his body, almost like it was asleep. "Whoa…that's fast."

Kuwabara then blushed as Yukina laughed and nodded her head, putting the bowl back onto the table. "Well that's why I used it koi," she said simply, looking back up at him with shining ruby eyes. "I'm so sorry that this happened…"

"Yeah, but it's okay. I mean I'm still alive right?" Yeah, -that's- the positive way to go, he thought to himself, holding back the urge to smack himself in the head.

She agreed with a silent nod, and seeing her eyes start to water the teen blinked and sat up a little more, surprised that he couldn't feel anything down at his middle, tilting his head to the side. "Hey, it's okay honey, I'm fine, remember? There's nothing to worry about…"

With a sniff the koorime nodded and shook her head, running a knuckle under her eyes. "I know, but it just scared me so much. I thought…I though that you were going to…to…"

He didn't let her finish, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her against him and closing his eyes as she buried her face into his shoulder and started to cry, her own small arms moving around his neck just as tightly. "Shhh…its okay Yukina-san. It's okay."

_And as small white tear gems began to drop down onto the soft sheets of the bed with quiet 'tinks', the two stayed like that for a long while, and as Kuwabara held his love he never opened his eyes, feeling something sliding down his own cheek…_


End file.
